Patrick Sean Smith, the showrunner on Fox’s upcoming “Beverly Hills, 90210” meta-revival, has exited the series, TheWrap has learned.
Paul Sciarrotta, whose previous credits include “Jane the Virgin” and The CW’s last “90210” reboot series, will take over as showrunner of “BH90210.” Series creators Chris Alberghini and Mike Chessler will now also serve as co-showrunners . Sciarrotta, who has an overall deal with CBS Television Studios, was previously a member of the show’s writing staff.
A number of writers departed the show alongside Smith, though according to an individual familiar with the matter, the writers’ room has since been “beefed up” and is back on track in the wake of the departures.
“BH90210,” set to debut in August, will feature original cast members Jason Priestley, Shannen Doherty, Jennie Garth, Ian Ziering, Gabrielle Carteris, Brian Austin Green and Tori Spelling. In a meta twist, the revival will feature the original cast members playing heightened versions of themselves — “with a healthy dose of irreverence” — as they try to get a revival of their old show off the ground.
The new series is based on a concept by Alberghin, Chessler, Spelling and Garth. Cast members Carteris, Doherty, Green, Priestley and Ziering will also serve as executive producers. It is produced by CBS Television Studios.
The original “Beverly Hills, 90210,” created by Darren Star and produced by Aaron Spelling, ran for 10 seasons on Fox between 1990 and 2000. It starred Spelling, Garth, Priestley, Doherty and Luke Perry (who died in March) as students in West Beverly Hills High School in Los Angeles. It led to multiple spinoffs, most notably “Melrose Place.”
Fox previewed the show at its upfront event earlier this week, where it unveiled a new teaser featuring the original cast. That teaser has since been viewed 18.4 million times, becoming the most-viewed trailer among all new series for the 2019-20 season.
Variety first reported the news of Smith’s departure.